Crews find missing Mount Rainier backpacker safe

UPDATE, 5:45 p.m.: The missing hiker was found safe and healthy Monday afternoon, Mount Rainier National Park spokesman Kevin Bacher said.

ORIGINAL STORY: Mount Rainier National Park officials are searching for a Kent man who didn’t return from a backpacking trip late last week.

Philip Kezele, 41, of Kent was last seen Friday morning at Spray Park after camping the night before in Cataract Valley, park spokesman Kevin Bacher wrote in a news release Monday afternoon.

Kezele’s family reported him missing Saturday.

Hasty searches by park rangers and volunteers did not turn up anything Saturday, and a larger search party aided by helicopter did not find the man either.

Ground and air searches resumed Monday morning.

Kezele was last seen in blue jeans, a red or black T-shirt, a wide-brimmed sunhat, aviator sunglasses, and a large black backpack with an orange and black tent inside. He originally came into the park at the Mowich Lake entrance.

Anyone who was in the Spray Park area over the weekend or with information that would help lead to Kezele’s whereabouts is asked to contact Mount Rainier’s incident command at 360-569-6700.

This story was originally published July 16, 2018 at 3:37 PM with the headline "Crews find missing Mount Rainier backpacker safe."